Skill gaps make it difficult to attract right talent: Report

With several industries facing skill gaps, most businesses are facing difficulty finding the right talent, with the right industry knowledge, according to a report.

"Only a quarter (23 per cent) of businesses felt they find it easy to attract the right talent, with the right industry knowledge, suggesting they might soon hit crisis point," according to a report by Epicor Software - Global Growth Index.

The research for the survey was conducted by Morar Consulting on behalf of Epicor in December 2017, which was conducted among 2,450 business decision makers and employees in businesses in 14 countries, including in India.

Despite recent technology developments, including advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), IoT and robotics, many business leaders attributed the emerging skills and knowledge gap to the fact that there's a perception that these industries are behind the times, it said.

Many businesses in manufacturing, lumber, distribution and retail believe they are perceived as being old-fashioned (23 per cent), and a quarter agreed they were not seen as working within a 'young person's industry' (25 per cent).

At the same time, 32 per cent thought young people lack the right skills or experience to work in industry, it said.

One in five (22 per cent) believed that the education system simply isn't doing them any favours primarily because it's not preparing or encouraging young people into manufacturing, it added.

Meanwhile, 41 per cent said young people want the opportunity to work with the latest innovations, so implementing new technology could bring recruitment benefits as well as business efficiencies for industrial firms, it said.

About, 20 per cent said the chance to work with robotics and AI is a big draw for young talent, and 33 per cent of millennials want the opportunity to work with the cutting edge new developments, it added.

"Technology, we believe, holds the key to plugging the knowledge gap. The presence of robots on the manufacturing floor and in the warehouse, will not only help businesses achieve more at a time when they are struggling to recruit the right humans, but will also help to boost the prestige of industrial rolesmaking them more attractive to young people, more exciting and more cutting-edge," Scott Hays, senior vice president, product marketing at Epicor said.